A Mutual Attraction
by snapesophelia
Summary: A seventh-year Hermione is not as indifferent to a certain Potions Professor as he may have thought...
1. Default Chapter

A/N: Hey everyone! I'm usually just a lurker, but I decided I'd finally try my hand at the Snape/Hermione pairing. Yes, I know that some clichés are hard to avoid, but I will try my best to do so in this story. So, give me a break, and if anyone would be willing to beta, just say so in a review (hint, hint) and I'll get back to you.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Really. If I did, I'd have better things to do that sitting on my computer such as, oh, spending my millions? Hmm..  
Chapter One~  
There was something about the way that girl held herself that drove him absolutely mad. Yes, of course, she was beautiful, but that was beside the point. The graceful way in which she spread her napkin over her lap, or pushed a wayward strand of hair behind her ear, had more of an affect on his libido than the unknowing girl could possibly imagine.  
  
Perhaps it was a bit sick. She was far more than fifteen years his junior, but for some reason, he found himself unable to release his mind from her image. It began slowly, developing from simple approval (which, for him, was a great privilege indeed) to a sort of unnerving pride, then on to developing affection, and finally.to whatever this was.  
  
'It can't possibly be love. Even the idea is quite ridiculous. I have no time or need for such cheap emotions.'  
  
As many times as he repeated his mantra, however, it seemed to do little good. It was becoming distracting, being around her. Classes were becoming more and more difficult to teach, with the knowledge that her alert eyes followed him around the classroom in the effort to gain every drop of knowledge possible. He'd sworn off Dreamless Sleep years ago, feeling that his penance involved facing his past even in dreams, but sleep now eluded him for a different reason all together. She was wedging herself into every waking thought, and he didn't even have the presence of mind to be annoyed.  
  
The daydreams were the worst, however. Catching the scent of her perfume upon her essay parchment could spark almost erotic images of warm brown hair, golden eyes, and sweet embraces. Sitting at his desk, he could imagine her soft skin, graceful manner, and above all, her amazing mind. Her hands sliding over his back, coming around his desk to sit on his lap and press her lips gently upon his...  
  
Which was his exact thought as an explosion came from the other half of the room. Snapping out of his reverie, he looked up to find smoke billowing from the Gryffindor side of the room. Taking a deep breath, he stood and walked towards Neville, his scowl setting on the way.  
  
"Mr. Longbottom." he began. "Is it possible that this is the *fifth* school cauldron that you have managed to destroy this term?"  
  
His voice was unnervingly calm, but the students were in no way deceived. Neville was going to get it, big time. And he knew.  
  
Standing still, yet looking at the floor, Neville began, "Yyy...I mean.uhh.."  
  
"Perhaps enunciating would aid your case, Mr. Longbottom. Or are you too great a dunderhead to admit your own failure?" Snape interrupted, bending down to look the boy straight in the eye.  
  
"I..." he faltered.  
  
"I did it."  
  
Severus looked over at the sound of the voice, as a collective gasp rang around the room. Neville whipped his head around to look at the source of questioning, his eyes wide.  
  
"What did you say, Miss Granger?" he asked, his eyes almost betraying the shock and frustration that he felt. Of course, he knew exactly what was said, his remarkable hearing accounting for that. He also knew that there was no possible way that Miss Granger could have possibly botched a potion enough for an explosion to result, causing him to wonder exactly *why* she chose to take the blame. Such contemplations were for later, however."  
  
"I did it." she repeated, to the wonder of her classmates. Hermione Granger? Explode a cauldron? With a partner such as Neville to do that sort of job for her?  
  
"Well then, Miss Granger. Detention. Tonight. Eight 'o clock." He said clearly, looking into her eyes with a hint of disbelief mixed with carefully hidden anticipation. "Class dismissed."  
  
With a wave of his hand, Professor Snape cleared the desk and surrounding tables of any debris, leaving the room once more immaculate. As the students gathered their things and walked out, still whispering, Severus walked up to his desk, sat down, and repeatedly asked himself exactly what he had gotten himself into.  
  
He had no knowledge of Hermione skipping past questioners with a smile upon her face, wondering exactly what she would wear that evening.  
A/N: Hmm..if I really push it, I might get another chapter out today...what do you guys think? That review button's really pretty, isn't it? Constructed criticism is appreciated, as well as marriage proposals; flames will be used to heat my freakin' freezing dorm room. 


	2. Chapter Two

A/N: So, here's chapter two! Yes, yes, I know the detention thing has been done before, but rest assured, I'll be putting in a few twists of my own, hehe. Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews.the butterbeer was much appreciated. You guys don't understand, it's not supposed to be cold in April! Where the heck did spring go? Anyways, here it is, hopefully a longer chapter. Beta, I just couldn't take it, I had to post! I'll make sure the next chapter goes to you first, though. Thanks so much!  
Chapter Two~  
  
Severus Snape was not, by any means, a weakling. He could brew some of the most difficult potions known to wizardkind as if they were mere trifles; his ongoing role as a spy as well requiring courage and presence of mind in spades.  
  
That said, however, if there was anything that would define Snape, it would be his long-standing talent as an extremely light sleeper. Oh, he could fall asleep near anywhere, but the combination of dreams and the uneasy feelings of alertness present even in sleep caused him to wake frequently and suddenly. Often, this combination of events led to conclusion that the night hours would be better spent on pursuits other than rest, since he could never truly stay asleep anyhow.  
  
Which exactly explained his surprise at waking at his desk, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness?  
  
'I must have fallen asleep' his rational, half-foggy brain said to himself, while the other side of his mind congratulated him for his astuteness.  
  
Raising his arms over his head in a vain attempt to stretch the tight muscles in his back, Severus looked around, his eyes finally adjusting to the light of a lone candle in the back of the room. Suddenly, his eyes locked on a figure sitting at a table towards his desk. Squinting, his eyes picked out a head resting on crossed arms on top of the table, and long, brown hair cascading down the shoulders.  
  
'Oh, shit' he thought, looking quickly at the timepiece on the wall. Nine- thirty? He couldn't even remember falling asleep, and there were only pieces of dreamland still reverberating within his mind. He stood, quickly bringing his thoughts back to the present moment, and considered the girl in front of him.  
  
'Lovely.just lovely. Lucky she didn't wake me, under the circumstances I'm not exactly sure if I would have been able to control myself.' he thought, pulling his "ill-used" wand out of his pocket and conjured up a window, bathing the room in moonlight. He looked out upon the water, his mind slipping again into daydream.  
  
Lost in his thoughts, a longhaired seventh year was slowly lifting her head from the table, she as well experiencing the discomfort of sleeping so long in such an awkward position. Looking up towards the unusual source of light, she saw her professor, standing in the moonlight, staring blankly out a window that certainly wasn't there an hour ago.  
  
'Oh no.I can't believe I fell asleep! He's going to murder me.' she thought. 'Then again,' she added to herself, 'there are worse ways to go.' She rolled her head around on her shoulders, rubbing the remnants of sleep from her eyes.  
  
"Prof." she tried out, her throat catching from sleep. Clearing it softly, she tried again.  
  
"Professor Snape?" she asked, running her fingers through her hair in attempt to somewhat tame the strands. Her professor continued his look out the window, seemingly oblivious to her calls. She stood up, brushing imaginary dirt off her immaculate robes.  
  
Taking a step towards him, she kicked her booksack, rattling various tools inside. Snapping out of his daydream, Snape turned around.  
  
Hermione's breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening. The moonlight reflected in his eyes, and for a moment, she thought she saw.  
  
His expression hardening, she steeled herself for a beratement. It must have shown on her face, and Snape suddenly relaxed, sitting down again at his chair.  
  
"May I ask exactly *why* you feel it necessary to be in my classroom far past nine 'o clock, Miss Granger?" he asked, a combination of sternness and rapidly-growing exhaustion present in both voice and demeanor.  
  
"Well, you see, Professor Snape, I came in for my detention, and."  
  
Hermione continued on in her explanation, but Severus was no longer listening. He had completely forgotten about the detention. Truly, he was loosing it in his old age.  
  
"That will be enough, Miss Granger." He interrupted, causing Hermione to look him straight in the eye. "I am far too exhausted to deal with your chatter right this moment. Now please, return to your common room, we will discuss a re-scheduling tomorrow."  
  
Inwardly squealing with delight at the thought of another evening in his presence, Hermione still made an attempt, as per his expectations of her,  
  
"But Professor.." she began.  
  
"No, Miss Granger. I refuse to see how it is my fault that you fell asleep during your detention when there are obviously many things you could have accomplished." He said, waving his hands around the spotless classroom as if there was some gigantic mess hiding somewhere, waiting for her to clean it up. It was, of course, necessary for him to regain control of the situation before he made a fool of himself.  
  
Thoroughly confused, Hermione followed his hand around the room. Seeing it immaculate, she replied, "Such as.?"  
  
Snape looked her in the eye, an air of annoyance reflected in the flickering candlelight. 'Goddess, she's lovely..' he thought, quickly snapping out of it to come up with some sort of a response. 'Forget being a fool, I'm a teacher, dammit. I must be so obvious..'  
  
"Well then, Miss Granger, you're far more like the rest of your friends than I once imagined." he finally pulled out. "Now, please. Go back to your common room, we'll discuss this in the morning." he said, standing out of his chair and exiting through a door hidden in a dark corner of the room, his robes of course billowing behind him.  
  
As he walked quickly through the long, narrow hallway, his thoughts matching the speed of his long stride, Severus chastised himself for his stupidity.  
  
"Stupid! Stupid!" he said out loud, to no one in particular. "Perhaps next time I could simply drop to my knees and proclaim my undying love. 'Far more like your friends'? What rubbish. Pathetic. Just pathetic."  
  
Finally reaching the end of the hall, he whispered the password that would open the door to his private chambers; he stepped into the darkness, the door slamming shut behind him.  
  
Out in the semi-darkness of the potions classroom, Hermione stood still, her hand half-frozen in the midst of pushing in her chair. Suddenly remembering to breathe, she grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. Pushing her chair in the rest of the way, Hermione left the classroom, for the second time a goofy grin plastered upon her face.  
  
It seemed that Professor Snape's voice carried further than he thought. But what to do? Remembering her make-up detention scheduled for the next evening, her smile widened even further.  
  
"He'll never know what hit him." She said to herself, smiling the rest of the way to Gryffindor Tower.  
A/N: That Snape, always trying to save face.why doesn't he just let it out? No matter. It seems that Hermione has a plan of her own.hehe. Possible lemon warning in the near future, mmmm, how I love those lemons. Review, Review! 


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